Wordless Wednesday

My baby has a fever tonight. It came on quickly at dinner. So I am playing nurse-mom to him. Luckily, it seems to be nothing serious. He said his teeth hurt, so I am thinking his last molar is working its way through. However, because it might be a long night I am just going to post two pictures that were taken recently that I really love.

Jameo with his Daddy...

and with his Mommy

What happened to my blog?

There are many reasons I stopped blogging regularly. For me, I didn't find it a satisfying way of spending my "me-time." I felt like I was neglecting things I should do or wanted to be doing. It wasn't blogging on its own, it was my computer time in general. I love reading blogs, checking email, and then I would get lost looking up some interesting factoid and then 2 or 3 hours later I would wonder when the time had disappeared. Around the same time Jameson became much more interested in it. If the computer was out, he wanted to play with it, so I made a rule for myself that I wouldn't get out the computer when he was awake. Its a good rule and I like it, but I have gotten more lax about it lately. I found that the computer was taking precious time from my family. Both Kevin and I are computer geeks, and feel it is perfectly acceptable to have the laptop glued to our laps all evening, while watching TV. Instead of talking in the evenings, he would be working and I would be hanging out on the computer.

I decided I wanted to experience life not just write about it, hence my break from the computer began. I wanted to read more books, watch less TV, sew more, paint, and de-clutter my full house. I am not an organized person by nature, so I am learning things that are helping me to become one, and I have learned we all need less stuff! I have succeeded in some of these areas, especially during the summer, but lately I have been on the computer much more than I have wanted to be, been reading less, and not getting things accomplished that leave me feeling satisfied at the end of the day. I want to be the mom that plays with her kid. If its a sunny day, I want to take my son outside for a walk. To Jameson, everyday is a sunny day, as this is how he wakes us up each morning "Sunny day, sunny day!" Recently its evolved, to "Its a beautiful, sunny day!" I want to take that enthusiasm for life and live it.

Jameson looking oh-so-contemplative

When Jameson is playing cars, I want to play with him, or be close enough that I can hear his wonderful world of imagination. Each of his cars is a person in his life. There is the Momma car (I am a purple sports car) the Daddy car (a blue range rover), Nana and Poppa (Nana being a yellow car with a black stripe and Poppa being a neon jeep), Omi and Papa (Omi is a Red race car and Papa is any van that is in his collection). He has his Uncles and Aunties, and his friends, each of whom have a car. He plays with his cars like I played with my dolls when I was little. They have conversations, sing songs, play together, and occasionally "crash" and get hurt. It is the highlight of my day to catch him mid-imaginary play. I have to stand back and just listen or it breaks his daydreams.


So, while I was absent from the blogging world, I was very present in my life. I got a lot stuff done, but I still have a lot more to do. I am hoping that this month I can figure out the balance between keeping my friends and family informed of our lives via the blog, but also feel like I am getting "me-time" and the tasks done that I need to get done.

NaBloPoMo

November is the National Blog Posting Month. It was enjoyable last year, and I figured it would be a good time to revive the old blog. So, here it goes.

Our pic taken at the end of the night.

Yesterday was Halloween. It was Jameson's first time dressing up and trick-or-treating. My requirement was that he could say "Trick or Treat" and not be too shy to walk up to the doors. He had so much fun. He went as a cowboy with three friends. I was surprised how long he lasted (about 2 hours!) and he walked the whole neighborhood. He was so polite saying "Thank you" and "Happy Halloween" at each and every house. Made me very proud to be the mother of such a polite boy. The moms (and one dad) laughed the whole way. The weather was pretty perfect, and Kevin said it was the nicest Halloween he had ever seen. Normally, its snowing or freezing and the kids are bundled up in parkas being driven from house to house.

Cowboy Jameson ready to go.

The Awesome Foursome.

Teeny little munchkins not even as tall as the door handle.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Today is Kevin's Birthday. Thirty-six years to be exact, but who's counting?

I don't think I take time enough to extol the virtues of the man I love. He is my soul-mate, my true love and before I knew him I would argue with people that these things did not exist. I felt that anyone could be happy in marriage if they just tried hard enough. Now that is not to say we don't "work" on our relationship, but it certainly makes it easier to want to do the work. Here is a list I have been compiling for awhile. Some are silly and sublime and some are serious, but each and every one makes me feel grateful beyond doubt that he is mine. I love you!! Happy Birthday!! Here's to a great year ahead of us.

1) He is my best friend and he can make me laugh like no one else on this Earth.

2) We never stop having fun together.

3) He cooks us dinner (nearly) every night. He loves cooking and he is a fantastic cook!

4) He cleans up the kitchen (nearly) every night.

5) He makes us breakfast (nearly) every morning (You see a theme here?)

6) He promised to be my heater at night years ago, but still lets me keep my ridiculously hot down comforter on the bed.

7) He works very hard to keep us taken care of so that I never ever worry.

8) He is really good at saying "sorry" (Me, not so much).

9) He surprises me with really amazing, thoughtful gifts (like Tim and Faith concert tickets and a new computer).

10) He sings our "good night" song to Jameson each night complete with funny voices and actions.

11) He often tells me how much he loves me and how much he appreciates what I do for him.

12) He puts up with me watching awful reality TV shows, although I am coming around to his way of thinking (Oh, Jon and Kate...).

13) We plan on traveling the world together. I would go anywhere with him because he makes me feel safe.

14) That we still "got it" (ie incredible chemistry that sends tingles down my spine.)

15) He loves his little dogs at least as much as I do and probably more.

16) He changed his mind about (not) having kids when we decided to get married because he wanted me to be the mother of his children (although I think the word he used was dynasty).

17) He is really good at playing with Jameson, cars, ball sports of any kind and...even tea parties complete with a "prost" (cheers!) which is Jameson's favorite part.

18) That he is a daydreamer like I am, but he is really good at making those dreams a reality.

19) He reads really LONG non-fiction books to keep his brain working and then tells me I would really enjoy such-and-such book. Which is true, but I don't have the mental energy to read such time-consuming books.

20) He is SO great with our finances and has taught me to be a better person with my money and spending habits. (I am a work-in-progress though).

21) He loves "romantic comedies" as much as I do, but would never admit it. If you don't believe me ask Alison who has watched movies with us and finds it just as charming. Hee hee.

22) He wants to live on a farm and be self-reliant too; which is only a problem when we realize we are slugs and farming is A LOT of work.

23) He does incredible things for me like driving an extra 1000 miles just so I can spend a night in Pasadena with my best friend for her 30th birthday party before heading to Oregon.

24) I love having "discussions" with him, it keeps me on my toes. I still learn a lot from him during these discussions.

25) Watching him evolve as a daddy has been one of the sexiest things I could ever imagine. (Yes, sexy...darn sexy!)

26) I know every story he is about to tell within a sentence or two and have probably heard them two or more times. I love his charisma.

27) We have the same ideas on raising kids.

28) With a look we know what the other one is thinking.

29) We can be doing nothing or something really exciting and we still enjoy each others company.

30) We usually have one fight a year, and ooh its a doozy, but we make up and it is like nothing happened the next morning.

31) There are still things I don't know about him and every once in a while I am surprised by a new fact about my incredible husband.

32) He has the absolute best laugh of anyone I have ever known. EVER. If I am upstairs or across the room at a party I can hear him laughing and it never fails to make me smile.

33) I love his generous spirit. He is a giver, even if he knows it won't be reciprocated. He can't help it, he likes to keep people happy.

34) He is so handsome in that Danish viking way, a heritage he is very proud to call his own.

35) Getting a hug from him is the most wonderful feeling in the world: safe, secure, happy, in love, warm, and tingly all at once. Nothing like my barrel-chested husband wrapping his arms around me!

36) He is constantly striving to be a better man, to have a more positive outlook, to love our family, to listen more carefully and to pick his words consciously. I couldn't imagine my life without him in it. I appreciate how much effort he puts into making and keeping us happy. I know its not always easy, but he makes it look simple.

Happy Birthday Kev!! We love you!!!

Dandelion Wishes

"I wish, I wish..."

Jameson calls dandelions "Wishing Fow-ers" and he picks them (and wishes on them) where ever we go. I am sure our neighbors love us! He is two in all its glory, (2 years 3 months today!) and most of the time I love it, however, other times (like today) are intense. I fully admit 2 is one of my favorite toddler years, am I on my own with that one? I love that he is talking more, his personality is emerging, but he is still my baby. When I ask him if he is a big boy, he says no, and then gives me a big cuddle. However, the flipside of that answer is that he doesn't want to wear "big kid undies" and prefers his "dia-der." We are working on being "potty trained" by the end of the summer. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Me and my little guy, what a cutie!

Apparently, I have been absent from the blogging world for some time now, as Kevin told me this morning my last post was February 07th. He has been telling me I need to blog for a few months. So, I gotta start somewhere, yeah? My excuse is that when we got back from Vienna I had a list of tasks and goals I wanted to get accomplished and the computer is one big distraction for me, also it just wasn't satisfying my need for "me time." Jameson also is obsessed with the computer, particularly the "photo booth" application which he calls "CHEEEEEEESE." Anytime I get out my computer he runs up to me and requests to "CHEEEEEEESE." So, I no longer get out the computer when he is around, unless I am distracting him with it.

One of his very own photobooth creations

We have had lots of fun over these past few months. Most of it has just been hanging out at the house, library or park, but we really enjoy that slow pace. We visited my family and lots of friends in Portland while Kevin took a trip back to Vienna. Kevin taught another quarter at the University of Denver, and it was a crazy one! We are very happy that summer has officially arrived. We planted our veggie garden full of lots of things we haven't attempted to grow before, so we shall see what works and what doesn't. The winter was long, both here and in Vienna, but FINALLY it seems like summer weather is here to stay. Jameson could stay outside from sun up to sundown, so we have been out and about a lot.

"Ow-siiide?" is a refrain I hear all day long.

"Jameson language" is finally beginning to take shape and we understand a lot of what he says. He calls himself "JJs" so I have begun calling him that too and he calls Kevin "Daddiss." He has troubles with "K's, L's, R's and in true German fashion V's (think, "willage" or "wegetables"). He recognizes letters and numbers like I can't believe. He will scream out a number and I will inevitably find it on some billboard or road sign. He loves matching things, two of anything and he tells me "It match!" He still loves his dogs and has taken to telling them, "NO "back-ing" over and over again. He says "soh-weee" (sorry) a lot, and I am not sure he knows what it means. He has gotten great at saying "pease and t'you." Yesterday he surprised me and said "X'cuse me" to Lulu, after we got home from a store-run and I had told him to say "excuse me" when he bumped into someone. He is a sponge and a master imitator, it is nuts to watch how quickly he absorbs stuff.

Tuesdays are by far his favorite mornings because that is garbage day. He gets SO excited to see the "Fruck" and yes this causes me much embarrassment when he shouts out his glee over seeing the "Fruck." We work very hard on the "t-t-t" sound, but when the excitement overtakes him its back to being a "fruck" (at its best, you can imagine the worst). In typical boy fashion he loves everything that goes: Cars, Trains, Planes, Scooters, Motorcycles and Bikes. We got him a Radio Flyer tricycle this last weekend. He absolutely adores it. It's the last thing he says before he goes to bed and one of the first things when he awakes. He was having a hard time pedaling the first day, but I think he dreamed about it, because in the morning he could totally pedal! And I have to say that I love the dorky helmet I make him wear when he rides his trike!



If you can't tell I think my son is pretty darn precious. We have been having so much fun lately and I love it. I will get better at posting more regularly, but until then have a great week!

Rocky Mountain Home

Yay! We are back! We made it back to Denver the evening of February 1st, and were very happy to put down our luggage, kiss our doggies and sleep in our big comfy bed. I anticipated that I would get much more done than I actually have managed to get done, jet-lag is no fun. Here are some good things and bad things about being back stateside.

Wake-up!
Jameson has decided that a wake-up time between 4:30 and 5:15am every morning is a brilliant time to rise and shine. I disagree, but dare I say am getting used to it? There is a lot that can get done in those witching hours. The upside to the early wake-up is a 6:15 bedtime. Too bad I am too tired after he goes down to do anything productive. Perhaps as the jet-lag begins to subside his normal 7:15 wake-up will return.

Traveling
Jameson loved all the traveling. The whole time we were on the train from Vienna to Munich he was saying "chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga-woo-woo." When he saw another train he would squeal in excitment, jump up and down and make sure that we also saw the train. He was a rockstar traveler on the plane, he was so happy to be on a plane, he had been ready since early morning rolling his backpack all over the hotel room. When we got to our seats he fluffed his pillow, took his blanket out of the plastic, sat down with his pillow behind him, his blanket on his lap and he attempted to buckle his seatbelt. I was laughing so hard. He looked so serious, and he was so excited to get seated. The only thing is that he chose the aisle seat. I let him sit there for a bit then moved him to the middle. He only slept for an hour of the 10 hour flight, but he didn't make a peep. Ok he made one peep, or rather angry squeal when he was two hours late for a nap and had barely eaten anything since breakfast, dinner was being served and I tried to get him to sit in his seat he let out a shriek that pierced my ears, but it last for 5 seconds and then he sat and ate his dinner. Have I mentioned how much I love my kid? For take-off he did his "Little Einstein" routine (i.e. "Pat, pat, pat" while patting his lap then "raise your hands above your head and shake your whole body" or something to that extent, it makes their rocketship take off) and he had to make sure Kevin and I did it too. You bet we did. He did great through customs in Chicago and then literally passed out on the plane to Denver, considering it was after midnight in Vienna I can't say I blame him! We were very happy to be home though with our travels behind us!

Sickies
The downside of traveling is the germs, the coughs, the flu that gets passed all around the airplane, and my boys were not immune to it. We were all coming down with a slight cold when we left Vienna, but with the stress of travel, staying up all night and trying to re-adjust to the time Jameson came down with a fever on Thursday night. I admit this was the longest illness he has ever had. He slept horribly and was restless all Thursday night, I was pretty sure he had a fever, but I didn't take his temp. I took it Friday morning and it was 102.1, not terrible, but certainly not comfortable. He was all things that go along with a fever: lethargic, hot, cold, uncomfortable, no appetite, and just wanted to be in my arms ALL day. That was just fine by me, but a little exhausting. He slept off and on all day and woke up about 8:30 pm. I knew he felt better when he immediately went to play his piano since he hadn't touched his toys all day. Kevin came down with the flu, body aches, headaches and a general yuckiness. The boys stayed in bed all Friday and both felt much better by Friday evening. Crossing my fingers that I don't get it next.

Big Kitchen
I love our kitchen with lots of counter space, and every utensil or machine we could possibly need. I wish we had a gas stove-top, but our electric range does the trick. The downside to all those utensils, machines and pots is the mess it makes when we cook. We had to stock up on all the basics since our fridge and pantry were empty empty empty. Groceries are SO expensive here, the same bag of groceries in Vienna that cost us 30 euros max. cost us closer to 80 dollars here. In the supermarket in Vienna it is incredibly easy to find organic items, and they are not that much more expensive maybe 10 cents to 1 euro more. One thing we were SO happy to have in our hands again was Udi's bread. Kevin missed the sliced bread and we have already gone through a loaf and a half. Toast, sandwiches, grilled cheese, yum!

Library
So happy to have my library back!! I had requested a number of books in the week before we left and they were waiting for me to pick up when we arrived home! Our outing on Tuesday was to the library. Jameson remembered all the toys they have in the toy area, and we checked out lots of books for him and ME. Happiness is the library!

Finally, my doggies
I love my dogs, love them in all their kookiness, and I miss them when we are gone. Jameson and Kevin missed them too. The first day or two Jameson wanted all three dogs with him at all times, in bed, his room, upstairs, downstairs. If we were playing in his room and only two of the three were there he would end up calling the third, usually Lu: "Woo-woo... Woo-woo..." I would hear him calling from all over the house. Leopold is "Bo-bo" and Lexi is "Yixi." Now he is having no problem disciplining them with the spray bottle for barking, and telling them to "Doh" (go) when they are sitting under the table waiting for spillage. When Leopold or Lexi come up to kiss him he says: "Ewwwww, nein, nein, nein." (nein=no in german). The dogs have learned to listen to him and follow him to the pantry because he feeds them kibbles one by one.


Changes
A few changes have taken place for us over the last month. After a lot of deliberation we decided to give up our apartment in Vienna. This caused a flurry of activity during the month of January and stressed me out beyond belief. It is the right decision for us, and it doesn't mean we won't be back in Vienna, just that we don't have a place to call home there. We have been trying to shorten our time in Vienna as the time change is very hard on Jameson, its rough on our dogs and Kevin and I don't like being apart for as long as was sometimes necessary. Its funny how much "clutter" can accumulate when we had a place to store it.

Also, we made the decision not to go to Costa Rica for our friend's wedding. This was a much harder decision. Overall, I am very happy that we aren't getting on another plane tomorrow for two weeks of traveling and feel like we got given an extra month that I wasn't expecting. We will go and visit the newlyweds sometime within the next year when our lives are a bit more settled.


We are so happy to be home, and I have a feeling once the laundry is done and the house is rearranged and cleaned how we prefer we will be even happier. We have lots of little projects on the books for 2010, and I am excited to get them going. Happy to be back in the same general timezone.

Animal Sounds

Here is a post to keep you satisfied until I get the mental energy to write up about our great Christmas and New Year. Jameson and I were just playing around with the photo booth, and he loves to see himself on video. I think its a fun one.